Middle East
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Dec. 12, 2022. Photo: AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday evening discussed ending the war in Yemen and issues related to Iran during a phone call.
The call comes weeks after a China-brokered agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia which analysts have argued is a sign of decreasing US influence in the region. The crown prince has also had a tense relationship with US President Joe Biden over oil production and human rights issues.
Last week, the foreign ministers of the two former regional foes met in Beijing to restore ties.
“Mr. Sullivan and Crown Prince Salman also discussed broader trends toward de-escalation in the region, while underscoring the need to maintain deterrence against threats from Iran and elsewhere,” a statement from the White House read.
Sullivan also “reaffirmed President Biden’s unwavering commitment to ensure Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
The Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran had rocky relations since 1979, when Shiite revolutionaries came to power in Iran and pledged to export their revolution to the world, including Gulf countries.
Diplomatic ties were cut in 2016 when Iranian protestors attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in retaliation to the Sunni kingdom's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Both nations have supported opposing forces in several conflict zones across the region, most notably in Yemen, where Iran backs the Houthi rebels while Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition supporting the government.
The recent normalization of ties has been welcomed by analysts as a step forward to resolving the war in Yemen. Citing a Yemeni government source, AFP reported that on Saturday, the Saudis and Houthis agreed to a six-month truce. Kanaani added that Iran hopes a “sustainable ceasefire” could be implements in war-torn Yemen “thanks to the new circumstances in the region.”
The White House also welcomed Saudi Arabia’s “extraordinary efforts to pursue a more comprehensive roadmap for ending the war”.
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